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August 14, 2014 by ADMIN

Stop messing Arsene – Arsenal NEED a new centre-back

No need for square pegs in round holes at Arsenal

Arsene Wenger’s ability to change a player’s best position is well documented. He has done it successfully with Thierry Henry, Mathieu Flamini and Lauren, to name but a few. It looks as though the next man to head down that path will be Calum Chambers after he slotted in at centre-half during pre-season. With the purse strings now loosened, though, is there any need to try and convert him?

There was a time when it was a case of ‘needs must’ in terms of players playing out of position to cover up certain squad deficiencies. In fact, the football banter directed towards Arsenal over the last few years has focused on precisely those issues at the Emirates. But with plenty of attacking options now available, and with over two weeks of the transfer window to go, now is the time for Wenger to look at improving the squad defensively.

The signings of Chambers and Mathieu Debuchy have gone down well at the Grove but the need for a new centre half is a box which still needs to be ticked, especially now Thomas Vermaelen has gone.

Arsenal have been linked with a few interesting names, most recently Benedikt Höwedes, who would be an excellent signing given his ability to play across the backline. Others linked with a move to the Gunners recently include Luiz Gustavo and William Carvalho, with certain media outlets suggesting they would be converted into central defenders.

Given that both would adequately fill the defensive midfield slot Wenger has been looking to fill all summer, it would make no sense for the Arsenal boss to try and convert them.

With the right additions, this Arsenal team is primed to be a success this season but that relies on Arsene being brave and splashing the cash to fill the two spots left in his squad. Chambers could turn out to be a good central defender but he is not ready for that responsibility yet this season, meaning it is imperative a new centre-half arrives soon for Arsenal to be considered contenders.

With Chambers set to play at centre-half again against Crystal Palace, you might think twice about including the Gunners on your football accumulator this weekend given the style of play Eagles boss Tony Pulis employs.

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93 thoughts on “Stop messing Arsene – Arsenal NEED a new centre-back”

What an absolute abominable move from Palace officials! Letting Pulis leave 2 days before an opening match away at us! I’m not wanting to be complacent here however I think this means we could cruise to an easy victory seeing as they will be in disarray, would hate to speak too soon though…

Thats not just us, when players lose a manager, they realize that their spot under that manager could be in jeopardy with a new, so they are keen to impress.
This case is different, I think he quit because of lack of transfer activity. This alone can demoralize any team…they probably think they are not good enough. Guess we will see.

These guys are pros, they get paid, they travel. Campbell got along at Olympiakos. I had one Greek Arsenal fan carefully explain that Manolas is Greece’s 3rd string DB based on performance.
That is troubling !

Pulis gone should be an easy (easier) 3 pts and allow Wenger not to rush players back.. A team without a manager usually loses so it’s definitely our gain .. But you can only beat what’s put in front of you and we must be professional and be clinical!

On the defender(s) needed.. It’s an absolute must that Wenger gets a top defender and a top defensive midfielder in..
Our current back line is only good enough for a top 4 challenge .. Offensively it’s on a par with winning the title..
We all keep saying it… But will Wenger deliver and make us formidable with these 2 signings to plug our at times fragile defending..?

Am sure we will have a new Central Defender but I doubt we will have another DM.
Isn’t it funny that Arsene has chosen his team leaders in the positions we fans hope he will bolster? These two Players can be benched if better quality comes in, especially in the DM position. This goes to say in a way that signings of higher qualities are not expected in these positions. I hope I am wrong.

Paletta, Alderweireld, Blind, Laporte or Höwedes- although the last one had a pretty lackluster season with Schalke. Although his season before that was phenomenal and he showed good form during the world cup.

All of these players, bar Paletta can also play as a LB or RB giving us extremely good cover. Since it looks like Monreal is staying we will only need one of these guys. They are all pretty good choices, some are younger which is always a plus, but with Chambers maybe a more experienced one is needed. Paletta and Höwedes are good choices.

Varane is always my first choice, but this transfer is very VERY unlikely.

With one of those plus a cdm, I would feel very secure going into this season. What do you guys think?

Wenger should close his eyes and just pay the asking price for a top DM. You feel that’s the only thing stopping us from mounting a serious challenge this season. If he doesn’t do that, then I believe it will be 4th or 3rd place (at best).

Wenger should have managed the defensive problems first ie bought 3/4 defenders instead of selling vermalen, Sagna loaning out jenks , selling djourou..etc.. Wenger inherited the famous defence of Adams bould Dixon keown winterburn etc.. And built a formidable team in front of them..
It’s ok saying we have bellerin, & monreal but they are hardly going to stand up well to Chelsea and Liverpool etc.. If we have £100m we should spend £50m on 2 top rocks in defence. £30m on a top midfield enforcer and £20m on a proven prem scorer..?
We already have an amazing midfield and although Sanchez is a breath of fresh air.. Remember he had iniesta, xavi, fabregas and messi to interchange with..
The problem may lie in Wenger not spotting a defender when he sees one..?

Am I the only one not sweating the CB ‘issue’? Nobody wanted to see Verm in the starting lineup last year because he was a shadow of his former self as an Arsenal player. Yet now he’s sold, people are desperate for a CB as if we have none.

I’m content with Chambers replacing Verm, so we are no worse off than last year except it’s silly season so I guess we “NEED” someone or it just wouldn’t be right. I’d happily take a journeyman/solid backup and focus on more crucial parts of the team.

A top grade lone striker is in order for me. Failing that, get a dynamic DM. But CB? I’m really not overly concerned.

When we have a suspension and an injury in central defense, you will get concerned Brother!

-Sagna filled in CD for us last season in how many games?
-Monreal filling in CD against City meant we are short at the back. Dont tell me Per is not around. It only means we can not do without two of our CDs during the course of the season.

The thought of koscienly missing for any amount of time only highlights a thread bare inexperienced defence.. I’m worried as hell and most on here are..
It will be highlighted if Wenger fails to sign another defender..
…
Something tells me though .. he has a surprise up that sleeping bag of his…!?!?!?

Exactly, the need for a CB is obvious and i am not afraid of Wenger not getting someone. “Who will we get?” is the right question. A young promising talent or an older “seasoned” player who wont mind to come as back up? I for one prefer the later. What do you think?

But let’s be honest, we are in exactly the same boat as last year so why is it all of a sudden such a “NEED”? Chambers replaces Verm and that’s a plus in my eyes (loved verm but he lost his head here), Debuchy replaces Sagna, and Monreal replaces Sagnas makeshift CB ability that was used like twice. Flamini can also go back there.

I really don’t see CB as a pressing concern, and I’ll be amazed if Le Bossbuys a top notch CB that many are clamouring for. Howedes for example? Let’s reel in the stupid…he isn’t leaving schalke to play safety net for Per/Kos.

Chambers does NOT replace Verm. Last season Wenger could count on 2 CB backups – Verm and Sagna if needed. He does have that now. There were games when Sagna was needed at CB.

This season he has Chambers – that is it. And Chambers may be needed at RB or possibly even DM if that is Wenger’s plan. He cannot backup RB and backup for TWO CB positions all by himself – not realistic.

A few seasons back Arsenal had all 4 FBs and a CB out at the same time. Djourou and Verm were playing FB and Song had to cover CB – it was not pretty.

The point is 3 CBs is not enough. And when 1 of the 3 is also the RB backup, you have a disaster waiting to happen.

The CB backup issue is absolutely NOT resolved but Wenger knows and he will get it done.

But we don’t want to be in the “same boat” as last year do we? Where did that get us in the league? or in the big game thrashings? We want to be improving and mounting a serious challenge for the title where a club like ours deserves!!

We definitely need a cb in, we cant rely on a relatively inexperienced 19 yr all be it talented, to cover for us for large parts of the season if we lose Kos or Per to injuries. we want to be moving forward and getting stronger hence the need for strengthening!!

We don’t need to be in “the same boat ” with our defence though it clearly needs some depth, we conceded lots of goals in them big games and we are banking on getting no injuries through the season to Kos and Per, we need to strengthen in that area!! I wasn’t questioning the idea of a new st or dm just your idea of not really needing a cb!!!

To be fair John, very few teams can cope with 2 CBs out.
Cty can, because they have so much money, and pay such high wages, they can buy 3/4 top CBs and they are not so bothered warming the bench.
OUR problem, and we ALL know it is, top top CBs are NOT going to come to AFC to warm the bench for HALF the wages Cty/ Chelsea will pay them.
Utd are desperate for CBs, so, the likes of Hummels know, they would be nailed on first choice to start. Why then come to us, and, IF Wenger bought him, and, dropped Kos, how do you think he would take that.
We DO need a back-up for Kos, but, it will NOT be a top top player.
I DO however believe another stellar signing IS coming, just not the CB.

Problem CC is this, Chambers is a Right sided player, so, is ideal cover for BFG ala Sagna.
However, as far as I know, he DOES not really play Left side, and, as we have sold the natural replacement for Kos, that, leaves us with Miguel, or, Monreal, should Kos get injured or needs time out. Most I believe think neither are really good enough at CB to do the job.
So, we DO need a left sided CB, or, a DM that could slot back as needed.
Would not panic yet, Wenger IS looking at the options, but, the transfers often rely/depend on another movement elsewhere, and so, it may be on the last couple of days of the window before a player he wants becomes free to sign.
I also expect one more massive signing as well.

CC. Last Season, or at least for a large part of it, we had Theo, and, Rambo out.
We also lost AOC.
This Season, we also have Alexis, and, Joel Campbell.
As long as we do NOT have the serious injury problems like last Season. I honestly believe scoring goals will NOT be a problem.
Stopping the likes of Chelsea and Cty scoring a handful against us however IS still a concern, and, IF we have to play Miguel, or, Monreal at LCB against them, and, Pool, on their turf especially, would you feel confident.
DM is NOT so much a priority for me, but, I believe the Stellar signing will be a DM, that, can also play deeper.

I tend to agree with you about where the one big signing will come. But I’m not sold on Campbe, and not swayed by sanogos Emirates cup exploits.

My concern is that none of Alexis, Theo, Poldi, Campbell can play the lone forward role no matter the dillusions that they can. So as such, Giroud and Sanogo is not scary from a quality/depth perspective, and doesn’t fill me with confidence that the 30 goal deficit we had to City last year will be reeled in..

With Boss, BFG, Chambers, and possibly Monreal, I think we need a versatile DM that can also play CB if needed. Javi Garcia probably could’ve done that, but now he’s off to Zenit – that would’ve been a great DM to get on our squad.

Can we though Andrew? Just the 30 goals less than City and Liverpool last year…

My guess is you’ve likely assigned fantasy goal tallies to Sanchez, Sanogo, Campbell and Theo when in reality none bar Theo has the pedigree. And it’s hopeful, to say the least, that Theo comes back guns blazing.

Why has that “got to be 90/100 goals”? Ozil isn’t a scorer, Cazorla barely scored last term, Sanchez is an unknown in this league and has scored more than 12 goals 1 time in a season (last), Rambo is worthy and so would Theo be if not for the 9momth injury layoff.

@mesut o thrilled “javi garcia a great cdm?” God forbid, that guy is crap… If we don’t get a Cdm b4 the window’s over, we’ll finish sixth & the humilating defeats we say last season is just a tip of the iceberg!

If Gibbs get’s injured were fu&ked! (Sorry Moreal)
We need another defender pronto, look at the squad on arsenal . com, how attackers do we need?
The ratio- attackers to defence is mental.
Wenger should of had a replacement (in the bag) to cover for Verminator, sadly this isn’t true.
I see our problems lying in Lb and CDM

No we aren,t.
Monreal is a Spanish International, and, certainly one of the best back-ups in the EPL.
He also did a good job at CB in the Charity Shield, though I wouldn,t want him to be back-up for Kos.

Most FBs are rock.
In our system, we play a high line with the FBs flying forward, rightly or not.
Gibbs and Sagna got caught out by speedy wingers just the same.
Monreal looked good at CB against Cty last week, and, IF, he was asked to play an old fashioned type Full back role, I,m sure he would look much better.

Well other teams, or lets say big teams do things like this. Get a new player first, then release the old one. We are still 3 players short but consider that Wenger likes last minutes buys, mayb he will surprise us.

CB= a solid yet experienced one, Verm was the perfect fit for a backup, i do not know if there’s someone similar in the market but no world class cb, someone of verm’s caliber, because our cb partnership is one of the best in the world, if not the best (partnership, not individually although they are great defenders)

DM= a strong guy, not so sure about it, but a guy that has also some technique and touch, can flick passes etc. javi martinez was my guy as he can play with the ball too but has more defensive duty than kedhira, but as he’s out for six months( shame really) khedira would be awesome. He’s on his way out, no doubt, and Wenger said this part of the month would be more active. COYG! This year is to be ours!

AW should really sign players that want to come and that dont have issues with wages.
If it is Cavani and 50 m but he is willing to have a wage according to our club…do it.
If it is Carvalho and he costs 8m but is willing to have a wage accroding to our club…do it.
If it is Khedira and the Price tag is ok but he is demanding 300k a week, dont
And so on.

Arsenal has the money to spend, dixit Arsene and Gazidis.
We need 2 or 3 more players to destroy anybody and lift at least 2 trophies.

Wenger will sign a CB guaranteed but I doubt he will sign CDM because we have plenty of CM
available Ramsey, Wilshere, Arteta, Flamini and Diaby. So Wenger will keep faith in these guys.
Next season Arteta, Flamini and Diaby will be released then he will make a CDM signing.

I think you are completely right. Wenger has never really been keen on a quality CDM and delays it as much as possible. Also, if there are enough in one position he doesn’t like to replace anyone with better quality unless they are past it. He is too loyal to his players. Like we could use a top quality striker but he said we have enough forwards, which is true but we could always get a top quality striker and send someone on loan or get LW and put Sanchez up front. So. I will be surprised if he got anothet CM. Probably just another defender or 2

@Gigi, the selling club need to find a replacement for the departing player before he is sold.
Transfers can get long and complicated. Nothing might be said for a long time while replacement players are being lined up.

Cavani is earning TWICE what can pay our highest paid player. But PSG will have to sell a high earner to pay for Di Maria if if if those reports are true.
Carvalho is earning 8K pounds week, chicken feed, but Lisbon is in debt and need big big dollars to pay the banks. So this one is all transfer fee.
Deals are being made, people are talking, banks are getting sweaty palms.
Something will happen !

The world is a truly shocking place to live in.just read a piece on ESPN.12 “”””experts””” gave their thoughts on the coming EPL season.All of them had Man U in the top 4.The famous Gab A hole marcotti didn’t even have AFC is the top 4.
Some time you have to wonder what AFC has done to these jerks.They need to be reminded that Howard Webb retired so man U can dissolve the club.

Cant believe pullis has gone, what a job he did last year! From the outside it’s clear to see pulls and parish are two very different people. On the cb situation wenger will buy but don’t think he’ll be after a bench warmer, I have a feeling he may buy an experienced cb with pace who can rotate with per for certain games. Wengers criteria / requirements may mean rhe purchase takes a little longer but could really benefit us long term. Here’s hoping! 🙂

Here’s what Laurent Blanc (PSG manager) said: “As long as the transfer window is open, anything is possible. We wanted the player we bought. The main transfers of PSG are done. But you don’t always do what you want during the transfer window. If the team stars as it is, I’ll be very satisfied. If a player desires to leave, we will make a third signing.”

High probability that he’s talking about Cavani, who may go, and Di Maria, who they may sign. So it all depends on if Cavani “desires to leave”. I know we need a DM and CB but this just seems too good an opportunity. I want a DM before a ST, but then I think of Giroud in front and… oh gosh, so many hard decisions.

ARSEN WENGER STOP PLAYING THE GAME AND MESSING AROUNG. WE NEED A CENTRE BACK AND CMB. AS SOON AS POSSILE. IS HE GOING TO SAY WE ARE ALRIGHT AT THE MOMENT.AND HE WILL DIFINITELY BUY IN JAN 2015.
WE ARE SICK HEARING THE SAME TUNE ,SEASON AFTER SEASON. DON’T TRY TO PLAY FLAMMINI AS CB. WE ARE PRONE TO INJURIES ALL THE TIME. DIABY ALREADY OUT FOR WEEKS.
SOMFOR GOD SAKE PUT YOUR HAND IN YR POCKET AND BUY TWO TOP QUALITY PLAYER, DON’T WAIT FOR THE TO BE DROPPED,IT WILL NOT HAPPEN,GET ON WITH IT NOW PLWASE

I must correct you. Luiz is a world class TALENT. He is NOT a world class footballer.

Did you see him in the WC semi-final Brazil game vs. Germany. He was either fully or partially responsible for nearly every 1 of the 7 German goals. It was the worst CB performance I have ever seen.

For the 4th goal he not only recklessly abandoned his CB position for no reason, he actually flew out to the midfield knocked his teammates off the ball allowing the opponent to continue the attack past them all. If had just sat down in place and twiddled his thumbs the goal would not have scored. He was a complete and utter disaster – very far from world class.

But if some manager could ever fully get him under control, he might become a RELIABLE and deadly asset for the team.

Sadly, fans got spoiled with the glut of good signings and now that it has been a couple weeks since the last announcement some fans fear Wenger is doing nothing. It does not work that way. No doubt Wenger is working on it.

Remember a few years back 5 players were announced just minutes before the transfer window closed. Who knows what will happen?